Tuesday, January 17, Eyewitness News at 11

GOOD EVENING AND THANKS FOR JOINING US..
I'M FRANK MALLOY..
LEAH JOHNSON HAS THE NIGHT OFF

MACON CITY COUNCIL HAD A FULL AGENDA THIS EVENING.
AMY AUBERT EXPLAINS SOME OF THE ORDINANCES THAT PASSED... AND SHOWS YOU SOME OF COUNCIL'S NEW IDEAS.
LAST YEAR... COUNCILMAN RICK HUTTO INTRODUCED AND SUCCESSFULLY PASSED AN ORDINANCE THAT SAYS PEOPLE CANNOT GO DOOR TO DOOR SOLICITING... UNLESS THEY FIRST GET A LICENSE. TUESDAY... COUNCIL PASSED A NEW ORDINANCE... SAYING SOLICITORS MUST ALSO PAY A 110 DOLLAR PERMIT FEE... BEFORE SELLING DOOR-TO-DOOR.
Rick Hutto, Councilmember: "There's also concern that if they're standing on your front doorstep looking in your front door, they can see where the lock is, they can see where the motion detector is on the alarm system."
COUNCIL ALSO PASSED AN ORDINANCE TO PAY 39 THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR ADDITIONAL OVERTIME FOR SOME MUNICIPAL COURT EMPLOYEES... SUGGESTED BY THE CITY'S INTERNAL AUDIT.THE OVERTIME COMES AFTER POSITIONS WERE CUT... AND EMPLOYEES CHOSE TO WORK THE EXTRA TIME TO FINISH JOBS.HUTTO CALLS THE OVERTIME COUNTERPRODUCTIVE... BUT SAYS THE INTERNAL AUDIT SUGGESTS PUTTING BACK THOSE POSITIONS.AND IN NEW BUSINESS... NANCY WHITE INTRODUCED AN ORDINANCE THAT WOULD MAKE IT UNLAWFUL TO PUT YARD DEBRIS IN THE STREET OR STORM DRAINAGE SYSTEM. IF IT PASSES... VIOLATORS COULD RECEIVE A FINE.
Rick Hutto: "We've had a lot of problem with people thinking they can just put anything out in their yard, they can put it in the ditch and we're also suppsed to come by and pick it up. That's just not the case."THAT ORDINANCE HAS BEEN REFERED TO THE PUBLIC WORKS AND ENGINEERING COMITTEE. AMY AUBERT 13 WMAS EYEWITNESS NEWS.
COUNCIL PASSED SEVERAL RESOLUTIONS... ONE OF THEM... A 21 THOUSAND DOLLAR GRANT FROM THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE COORDINATING COUNCIL... TO PURCHASE FOUR BIOMETRIC FINGERPRINT SCANNERS.
IN WARNER ROBINS... COUNCIL MEMBERS AGREED TO PAY FOR THE THIRD AND FINAL PORTION OF MISTAKES MADE AT THE BAY GALL CREEK.
THE CITY WILL PAY A FORT VALLEY COMPANY ABOUT 22-THOUSAND DOLLARS TO RESTORE THE CREEK BED.
THATS ABOUT 8-THOUSAND DOLLARS LESS THAN THE ESTIMATE A CITY ENGINEER GAVE LAST WEEK.
THE WORK IS PART OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DIVISIONS ORDERS... AFTER THEY FOUND THAT THE CITY DREDGED THE CREEK WITHOUT THE REQUIRED PERMITS. .
MAYOR CHUCK SHAHEEN SAID TRAINING FOR CITY EMPLOYEES SHOULD KEEP SIMILAR MISTAKES FROM HAPPENING AGAIN.
Chuck Shaheen, Mayor of Warner Robins: "These are going to happen with cities. It's going to happen with the EPD, and EPA violations, but we want to try and limit them, but more importantly, we want to make sure we stay trained with their new guidelines."
TONIGHT'S VOTE BRINGS THE TOTAL FOR THE PROBLEMS AT THE BAY GALL TO 82-THOUSAND DOLLARS.
CITY ENGINEER... WALTER GRAY... SAID THE WORK SHOULD BE FINISHED BY MID-FEBRUARY.
THE STATE OF GEORGIA WILL HELP ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE SOLVE THE ENCROACHMENT ISSUE.
THAT'S THE PROBLEM OF HOMES BEING LOCATED IN THE CRASH AND NOISE ZONE... JUST NORTH OF THE ROBINS RUNWAY.
SPOKESWOMAN FOR GOVERNOR NATHAN DEAL... STEPHANIE MAYFIELD... SAYS THE STATE DIDN'T COMMIT TO AN EXACT NUMBER OR PUT A LINE ITEM IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
BUT SHE SAYS THE STATE WILL KICK-IN SOME MONEY... WHEN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ASK FOR IT.
MAYFIELD SAID THE STATE AGREED TO HELP OUT... AFTER SEEING LOCAL INITIATIVES TO PURCHASE THE 250 PROPERTIES.
BIBB COUNTY VOTERS AGREED TO PUT SIX MILLION TOWARD THE PROJECT IN A NOVEMBER SPLOST.
HOUSTON COUNTY IS ASKING VOTERS TO COMMIT SEVEN MILLION... AS PART OF A PENNY SALES VOTE ON THE MARCH BALLOT.
HOUSTON COMMISSION CHAIRMAN TOMMY STALNAKER SAYS HE'S "ELATED" BY THE STATE'S CONTRIBUTION... AND BELIEVES IF ALL THE PIECES COME TOGETHER.. THIS WILL PUT AN END TO THE ENCROACHMENT PROBLEM.
STATE AND LOCAL EXPERTS SAY 2012 WILL LOOK A LOT LIKE 2011 AS FAR AS THE ECONOMY GOES.
THAT WAS THE FORECAST ECONOMISTS GAVE TODAY AT THE ECONOMIC OUTLOOK LUNCHEON AT THE MACON CENTREPLEX.
ROBERT SUMICHRAST... DEAN OF U-G-A'S TERRY COLLEGE OF BUSINESS... SAYS THE STATE ECONOMY WILL EXPAND BY LESS THAN TWO PERCENT.
AND THAT PUTS GEORGIA AT RISK OF A SHORTER, MILDER RECESSION.
HE SAYS THIS YEAR... GEORGIA WILL ADD 18-THOUSAND JOBS... THE FIRST YEARLY GAIN SINCE 2007... BUT THAT WON'T BE ENOUGH TO CURB THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE.
HE ALSO SAYS GEORGIA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH RATE IS RISING... BY NEXT YEAR IT WILL GROW AT THE SAME RATE AS THE REST OF THE NATION..
BUT SUMICHRAST SAYS WE HAVE TO DO BETTER.
"Georgia is poised to perform on par with the rest of the nation but that doesn't satisfy me and I suspect it doesn't satisfy you either. Most of you came of age when Georgia regularly outperformed the nation by huge margins. Going forward Georgia is unlikely to outperform the nation unless we change our economic strategies and development policies."
SUMICHRAST SAYS GEORGIA'S EMPLOYMENT WILL CONTINUE TO GROW AT HALF THE NATIONAL RATE... UNTIL NEXT YEAR WHEN CONSTRUCTION AND FINANCIAL SECTORS BEGIN TO RECOVER.

TOMORROW MORNING.. FOLKS IN BIBB COUNTY WILL ONCE AGAIN HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ACCESS HELP TO OFFSET THE COSTS OF HIGH WINTER HEATING BILLS.
THE BIBB COUNTY ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY COUNCIL WILL BE AT UNION BAPTIST CHURCH, TAKING APPLICATIONS FOR ENERGY ASSISTANCE GRANTS FROM THE FIRST 250 PEOPLE IN LINE.
THE CHURCH IS LOCATED ON KITCHENS STREET OF SHURLING DRIVE IN EAST MACON.. THE GRANTS PROVIDE 310 TO 350 DOLLARS TO POWER COMPANIES, TO HELP OFFSET RISING HOUSEHOLD EXPENSES.
SINCE THE APPLICATIONS ARE NEED BASED, PEOPLE SHOULD BRING A COPY OF THEIR UTILITY BILLS AND PROOF OF HOUSEHOLD INCOME.
THEY'LL ALSO NEED TO SHOW A STATE ISSUED PHOTO I.D., LIKE A DRIVER'S LICENSE AND SOCIAL SECURITY CARDS FOR EVERYONE LIVING IN THE HOUSE..
THE NEXT SESSION, ALSO AT UNION BAPTIST CHURCH, HAPPENS THIS FRIDAY.

THE LAYOFFS OF NEARLY 20 DODGE COUNTY ROAD EMPLOYEES LAST YEAR... HAS CAUSED THE COUNTY TO CUT BACK ON SOME SERVICES...
WILLIAM TRIPP SAYS UP UNTIL LATE LAST WEEK.... HIS DIRT ROAD HAD NOT BEEN SCRAPED IN ABOUT THREE MONTHS...
HE SAYS SINCE THAT WAS CAUSING PROBLEMS WITH HIS CARS... HE WENT BEFORE THE DODGE COUNTY COMMISSION TO ASK THEM TO FIX THE ISSUE...
TRIPP SAYS THE COUNTY DID SCRAPE THE ROAD... BUT HE CALLS IT A BAND-AID FIX..
COUNTY CHAIRMAN DAN MCCRANIE SAYS APPROVAL OF A $2-POINT-7 MILLION DOLLAR LOAN HAS BEEN DELAYED... AND THAT'S ALSO PUSHED BACK WHEN THEY MAY BE ABLE TO REHIRE THE EMPLOYEES...
McCranie: "I think once we get the line of credit thing will start back on a more regular schedule of scraping the roads and people should be hopefully more satisfied with the service they get from the county. Right now it's just a tough economic time."
MCCRANIE SAYS HE HOPES TO FIND OUT IF THE COUNTY HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR THE LOAN ON THURSDAY

MACON POLICE SAY A 17-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FACES CHARGE OF FELONY MURDER...IN A FATAL SHOOTING.
THEY SAY US MARSHALS THIS MORNING ARRESTED KRYSTAL ALMARAZ.
SHE'S ACCUSED OF KILLING IGNACIO GABRIEL ARMENTA CONTRERAS..HIS BODY WAS FOUND EARLY SATURDAY NEAR MEAD ROAD AND ALLIED INDUSTRIAL PARK.
SHE'S NOW IN THE BIBB COUNTYJAIL.
POLICE HAVE NOT RELEASED ANY FURTHER DETAILS ON THE SHOOTING OR TODAY'S ARREST.

THE F-D-A SAYS MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED DRUGS ON THEIR NATIONAL SHORTAGE LIST.
THAT INCLUDES EVEN CHEMO DRUGS....USED TO TREAT CANCER PATIENTS.
JENNIFER MOULLIET SAT DOWN WITH OFFICIALS FROM THE MEDICAL CENTER TO FIND OUT HOW THEY ARE OVERCOMING THE SHORTAGE.
JILL HANCOCK... MANAGER AT THE W.T. ANDERSON INFUSION CENTER AT THE MEDICAL CENTER OF CENTRAL GEORGIA SAYS THEY HAVE NEVER RUN OUT OF MEDICATION TO TREAT THEIR CANCER PATIENTS...BUT THEY HAVE COME CLOSE...

Jill Hancock: "We've actually had medications that other facilities haven't had and we've been treating patients in the meantime that couldn't get their medication at other places."

THEY'RE NOT ALONE.. ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION..... EIGHTY-TWO PERCENT OF HOSPITALS SAY THEY HAVE DELAYED TREATING PATIENTS DUE TO THE DRUG SHORTAGE AND MORE THAN HALF WEREN'T ABLE TO PROVIDE THE RECOMMENDED TREATMENT.

TO REDUCE THEIR RISK OF FALLING SHORT...HANCOCK SAYS THEY HAVE HAD TO CHANGE PATIENTS' TREATMENT...FROM RECEIVING MEDICATION BY AN IV TO TAKING IT ORALLY.
Jill Hancock: "You really want the best to begin with and sometime that's just not possible when you have these drug shortages."

THE AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION STATES THREE OUT OF FOUR HOSPITALS NEVER RECEIVE ADVANCE NOTICE OF A SHORTAGE... AND THAT'S WHY DOCTOR BERNARD MEYER VON BREMEN... DIRECTOR OF PHARMACY SAYS THEY ARE CONSTANTLY LOOKING FOR SUBSTITUTES.
Bernard Meyer VonBremen: "We'll work with the physicians in advance in some of those situations and say this drug is not going to be available and these are our alternatives."

HE SAYS DRUG SHORTAGES ARE NOTHING NEW... AND THEY AFFECT MORE THAN CHEMO PATIENTS.
Bernard Meyer VonBremen: "Some of those pain medications some of those sedatives some of the anethetic products used in the operating rooms are in short supply."

HE BLAMES THE SHORTAGE ON TOUGHER REGULATIONS BY THE FDA.... AND MANUFACTURING ISSUES.

Bernard Meyer VonBremen: "a lot of medications are generics now and because they are generics the profit margin for manufacturers is not so great....so there may be two to three manufacturers making it and one of those manufacturers decide to leave the marketplace."

HE SAYS THERE'S NO NEED FOR PATIENTS TO WORRY THEY'RE NOT GOING TO GET THEIR MEDICATION.
IT'S A CHALLENGE THE MEDICAL CENTER AND OTHER HOSPITALS IN THE AREA SAY THEY ARE READY FOR.
JENNIFER MOULLIET 13WMAZ EYEWITNESS NEWS.

SOME OF THE INTERNET'S BIGGEST WEBSITES WILL GO DARK TOMORROW... TO PROTECT AN ANTI-PIRACY BILL THAT CRITICS SAY WILL WRECK THE INTERNET AS WE KNOW IT.
THAT'S WHERE WE START TONIGHT'S.... GEEK 13.
WIKIPEDIA... USER-SUBMITTED NEWS SITE REDDIT... AND OTHER POPULAR SITES PLAN TO SHUT DOWN.
THE PROTEST IS THEIR RESPONSE TO THE STOP ONLINE PIRACY ACT... OR "SOPA."
THE BILL AIMS TO CRACK DOWN ON COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT... BY LIMITING ACCESS TO SITES THAT FUEL IT.
IF SOPA PASSES... COPYRIGHT HOLDERS COULD COMPLAIN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT... AND GET WEBSITES SHUT DOWN.
OPPONENTS SAY THAT COULD LEAD TO AMERICANS LOSING ACCESS TO THOUSANDS OF WEBSITES.
THE FAILED NETFLIX QWIKSTER SPLIT IS HAUNTING THE RENTAL SERVICE ONCE MORE.
SOME INVESTORS ARE SUING NETFLIX FOR MONEY LOST WHEN NETFLIX DIDN'T SPLIT OFF ITS D-V-D RENTALS INTO A SEPARATE SERVICE.
THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT ALLEGES THAT SENIOR NETFLIX MANAGEMENT TRADED STOCK AT INFLATED PRICES BEFORE THE QWIKSTER ANNOUNCEMENT.
THE SUIT ALSO SAYS NETFLIX NEW IT WOULD SOON NEED TO RAISE PRICES... AND DIDN'T TELL INVESTORS THAT MANY OF ITS CONTRACTS FOR STREAMING CONTENT... WOULD HAVE TO BE NEGOTIATED AT A HIGHER PRICE.
BOTH WOULD END IN A PRICE HIKE FOR CUSTOMRS.
NETFLIX HAS NOT RESPONDED TO THE LAWSUIT.
A BRITISH ARTIST IS USING A LITTLE TECH... TO OFFER FANS A MIX OF OLD AND NEW.
SOME OF DAVID HOCKNEY'S LATEST WORK WAS DONE ON AN I-PAD... THEN BLOWN UP AND PRINTED ON PAPER.
THE ARTIST USED SCENES FROM HIS NATIVE YORKSHIRE IN NORTHERN ENGLAND AS INSPIRATION.
HOCKNEY SAYS HE WAS A LITTLE SKEPTICAL ABOUT USING THE TABLET AT FIRST.
''At first you think it's a bit of a novelty, it took me a while to realise it's quite a serious tool you can use, and err it took me a while to get quite skilful on it, I mean, skill is practise so you to do that and it's not just a novelty, I realise this is a very clever tool you can use.''
THE ROYAL ACADEMY IN BRITAIN SAYS DEMAND FOR TICKETS HAS BEEN HUGE.
FOR MORE OF YOUR TECH HEADLINES... AND A LOOK AT OUR ALL-NEW APP REVIEWS.... VISIT THE GEEK 13 PAGE AT 13WMAZ DOT COM.
YOU'LL FIND THE LINK ON THE FEATURES PAGE.
AND ONE LAST QUICK LOOK AT TOMORROW'S FORECAST WITH CHIEF METEOROLOGIST BEN JONES.